October։ LGBT+ History Month

Every year October is celebrated as LGBT+ History Month. The idea was introduced in the USA in 1994 and the author of the idea was a high school history teacher Rodney Wilson from Missouri. He believed that History Month should be celebrated in October, because in the late 1980s, October 11 was declared National Coming Out Day, and also in October 1997 the first National March for Lesbian and Gay Rights took place in Washington. During the LGBT+ History Month, a number of events are organized that contribute to the unification, consolidation and advancement of the community. The LGBT+ community and supporting organizations use the History Month to summarize the achievements over the years and discuss the issues that still exist and options for solutions. 

We celebrate the beginning of the LGBT+ movement in Armenia in 1998 with the founding of the first Armenian organization, GALAS in Los Angeles, which also symbolizes the institutionalization of the movement. The creation of GALAS was also of great importance for the LGBT+ community in Armenia. It was founded by a group of queer Armenians living in the diaspora who were looking for support within the community, and since 1998 GALAS has been one of the leading voices for equality in the Armenian LGBT+ community. And in 2003, the decriminalization of same-sex relations in Armenia was the first significant event and the cornerstone of the struggle for rights protection.

This year, within the framework of the LGBT+ History Month, Pink Human Rights Defender NGO is starting a campaign, recalling all the notable events that contributed to making the LGBT+ community in Armenia heard and developing the progress of rights protection. Those cornerstone events that have been most influential in building the movement will be published on the organization’s website, and they will be featured separately on the organization’s social media pages throughout the month. The highlighted events are only a part of the LGBT+ movement’s history and are not limited to them.